Speed skating world record holder Lee Sang-hwa said Tuesday she feels there is still room for improvement ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Lee made the remark after receiving the Female Athlete of the Year award, presented by a local cable network and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation.

She beat out figure skater Kim Yu-na, who won her second career world title in March this year, and the world’s No. 1-ranked sports climber Kim Ja-in.

Lee holds the world record time of 36.36 seconds in the women’s 500 meters. The 24-year-old first set a world record in January this year with a time of 36.80 seconds, beating the previous record by 0.14 second. Lee then broke her own record three times in November alone, and won all seven 500-meter races that she entered during the International Skating Union World Cup season.

She won the 500-meter gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, becoming the first South Korean female speed skater to win an Olympic gold, and is the prohibitive favorite to again become the Olympic champ when the next Winter Olympics kicks off in Sochi next February.

After accepting the award, however, Lee said she is far from perfect.

“I am not yet 100 percent,” she said.

“There are still things that I need to correct. I am training hard both on and off the ice so that I won’t have any regrets at the Olympics.” (Yonhap News)